


The Heat of the Moment

by hidden_stories11



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Romance, Young Love, age gap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-10 14:32:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15293577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hidden_stories11/pseuds/hidden_stories11
Summary: Tom Holland never expected to gain this much fame. He also never expected to be face-to-face with, who he considers, some of the greatest actors and actresses to ever exist. Then again, who plans these things, right?





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. I'm not really sure how I should note this work. I've never seen or heard of anyone shipping the two, much to my dismay, and yet, I feel the strong urge to write the story that may never be. We can all fantasize, surely. I hold a deep appreciation for the idea of this couple being more than a mere idea, but with the reality that we may never know or may never see in mind, I write these desperate words as a way of portraying one of the most romantic, heartfelt, loving relationships onto paper. This is to be my greatest work, and I have considered retiring from writing all other stories in order to fulfill the demands of my imagination. I present to you: The Heat of the Moment.
> 
> Disclaimer: None of this is based on fact, this is only an interpretation of my artistic and romantic vision of these two being a couple. Please take none of this to heart.

[from Tom Holland's point of view, circa 2018]

 

      I had never expecting to be presented with the life I was living. The people I met every day, the cheers of crowds, the panels with my name plastered on them. It had never occurred in my mind that one-day people might pay money to see me. It was a fantasy that had become reality, that one day I might play Spider-Man; I'm now playing Spider-Man. This role has been the reason for my popularity, though my upbringing to the life of fame was very little. Then again, who really prepares to have men and women falling to their knees at the sight of you? I do sincerely mean to be humble but in a reflection of my now prominence, I must take a moment to see the very real life that I am living. But trust me, I'm in a constant state of pinching myself. Any man may kill to be in my shoes, and of all the stardom fellows who complain about being rich and famous, I am not among them. I do not blame the men who want my position, or even the women, for that matter. This is what it feels like to be on top of the world, and I don't plan to ever take advantage of it. No, unlike others in my position, those ignorant to regular people and treat them as peasants, I fall on the much nicer spectrum. So does a certain individual of whom I've been admiring: Tom Hiddleston.

     In truth, I regret the fact that I have had very little time to interact with the man with the curly hair, of which it shone in sort of a strawberry blonde type of way. His eyes, which were a sea of a soft blue, had seen the world and the truth that lay in it. He was a man of mystery to me, so kind and gentle, a man who enchanted me through and through. I had never been so drawn to something so pure. He could have been an element, the way he was so raw. His talent, personality, all of it was natural, just him. There was never a time before that I had found myself falling in love with something so beautiful, a light in the dark that I was reaching for. In this case, it seemed much more plausible to pursue this reverie that I had delved myself into; this day-dream trance that I was all but consumed by at all hours of the day, both light and dark. The thought of what could be woke me up in the mornings and kept me up late in the evenings, and I knew that if I did not act on my intentions, if I did not tell him how I felt soon, my mind and body would explode, leaving me nothing but a shell of what was Thomas Stanley Holland. 

     Tom Hiddleston was a man of kindness, of passion, of romance. He was dedicated to his pursuits, of which I could tell he had so many. I had studied him from a distance, I shamefully confessed, and learned of his acquired skill that was greater than the media presented. Though a humble man and he would never in a million years admit to truly being as talented as he is (he did not give himself nearly enough credit), he possessed a gift that no one, not even our many colleagues in all their glory, could quite relate to. I did not envy this flair, this aptitude, this  _facility_ that he so graciously had taken by the reigns. No, I simply admired it. 

      Sadly, on this journey to live a double life, a lover and an actor, I wasn't presented with many occasions where I could confess my undying love to the prepossessing man I was blessed with the opportunity to know. That was, until Ace ComicCon. Putting aside me being over-the-moon about being a guest at such an event, I was even more surprised to wake up to a text from the ever so lovely man himself; Tom Hiddleston. Tom and I didn't text much, as he lived in the moment whereas I was present on both the internet and real life. Though the few times we communicated, I was still a smiling, blushing mess. Much like a school girl who was calling her crush to ask about math and stuff. I made a mental note to maybe one day ask Tom about math, as he was probably good at that, too. Then again, the back of my mind screamed that these fantasies were probably just fantasies and that Tom may not be attracted to the male gender, but those sad thoughts crushing my attraction to him were set aside as I finally read the text. 

      _'Good morning, Tom! I hope you slept well. Congratulations on being invited to ComicCon. I was wondering if you'd like to share a hotel room with me if you haven't already found someone to share with?'_ I suddenly recalled that the night before, as I was being informed of my guest status at the convention, we were asked to share hotel rooms. They were being paid for us by the company, but they'd like to not go over budget. Not that any of us minded, we were all basically a family at this point. We probably would've ended up sharing hotel rooms anyway. We truly did just enjoy each others company.

      I quickly took the time to type back, the smile never leaving my face.  _'Good morning, and thank you! That would be lovely, actually. I had totally forgotten about even finding someone to room with. I look forward to seeing you there!'_ My heart leaped, perhaps a little more than it should have. I wasn't sure why he had asked me of all people to share a room with, and the self-doubt I had declared that it was probably just because Chris Hemsworth wasn't attending and so I was the next best bet. Still, doubt aside, I began to panic, again like a school girl, but this time one who wants to dress to impress. Tom had a style to him, a look that presented himself as clean and charming, a look that stained the fragments of my mind and painted the clear picture of him in my head, the artist is the idea that I couldn't seem to shake. Was it wrong to find myself loving the idea of a man fifteen years older than me? Then again, I felt as though that thought should be dismissed, as I was a legal adult and was free to fantasize about loving another legal adult. Though, if my ideal lover did not wish to indulge in such a romance with me, I wouldn't force him to by any means. All I could do was allow myself to live in the moment and hope for the best outcome. 

      Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I focused on the task at hand. I left for the convention in less than three days time, and it was a mere miracle that all my clothes had just been washed the previous day. So naturally, I packed all my best clothes, though I wasn't sure if I could whoo him with my fashion sense. Nevertheless, it was worth the effort. The only thing left to do was talk myself out of the dreadful fact that I most certainly would embarrass myself in front of him. It was inevitable, as sad as that is. 

 

 


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tom Holland is nervous about meeting the man he's been secretly crushing on.

     The flight felt ever so long and dreadful. I tapped my fingers against my knees, the beat being unclear but nervous. The flight was about to land, and Tom and I had previously agreed to meet at the airport. He would be waiting for me there with our chauffeur (as prestigious as that sounded) who would then escort us to our hotel. I had told him I could make it to the hotel fine on my own, that he didn't have to go out of his way or inconvenience himself if he'd rather be preparing for the events of tomorrow, but being the polite individual that he is, he naturally insisted. It was sweet of him, I thought, and I was still entirely confused as to how and why this was all happening. 

     During the first couple of months of filming Homecoming, I had kind of convinced myself that this wasn't actually happening. I was more so convinced previously, during the time of filming Civil War. It just didn't seem right, like this was some crazy dream that I'd wake up to. I'd go and tell my mum about all of it over breakfast.  _'Mum, you wouldn't believe! I had a dream that I played Spider-Man and actually met Robert Downey Jr.!'_ My boyish, naive self would have laughed it off and faced the reality that I was a relatively underground actor doing mostly small projects. Predebut, this still seemed like just a dream, a goal I'd never reach; not in this lifetime, anyway. Little did I know the possibility of this being a reality, but boy did I take it. I find myself reflecting on my position quite often, as I continue to be amazed and in love with everything that I encounter. It's easy to get lost in thought, trying to remember where this all began, just being stuck in pure amazement. I'm totally awestruck all of the time, and it's the best feeling possible. I also get that way when I look at Tom. I get all blushy and butterflies grow in my stomach, and all I can do is wonder if he notices how flustered I get. 

      Once the plane landed, I was forced back into the present, where I was soon to meet Tom. I took a deep breath in as I stepped off the plane. I quickly made my way over to the luggage return, trying to take as much time as possible before meeting Tom. It wasn't like this was my first time meeting him, obviously not, but I was still just as nervous. I could only imagine the horrors of me making a fool of myself in front of him, and how embarrassing it would be as it would surely be in public. It wasn't an incident I was begging to let happen, but I made a silent promise to myself that I'd try my hardest to avoid all possibilities of the occasion. 

      I lifted my head, looking away from my phone which had mine and Tom's chat opened, displaying a text that said he had spotted me across the room. I looked around, trying to find him in the large crowd. He was rather tall, so he wouldn't be that hard to miss, only there were many people here today. I had bodyguards surrounding me and cameras flashing in all directions, so I was sure he'd be able to find me. Then, emerging from a closed-off section, he walked towards me with open arms and a smile wide on his face. I walked over to meet him, embracing him in a friendly hug. Of course, the tips of my ears were red and I was buzzing with energy and excitement, but that was the joy in it all. Being so content with my situation, yet there was a craving that begged for more. It begged for me to hold him closer, to be more than what we were, and that was the silly crush I dealt with. I had come to terms with my sexuality long ago, understanding that I was attracted to males and females. It just seemed very natural, like it was okay for my heart to flutter any time I looked at Tom, just as it was with any girl I dated in high school or something like that. But Tom felt right, in a totally non-creepy way. 

     "Hello! How was your flight?" He finally greeted as we parted from the hug, smiling down at me.

     "Hey! It was good, yeah. I'm a little jetlagged but it's nothing. I'm actually starving for something other than peanuts, so do you mind if we pick up some food after we drop by the hotel?" I greeted back, yawning. I truly was tired, but my stomach wasn't going to stop speaking to me until I ate something. Tom chuckled, luckily, which made me feel a lot less insecure.

     "I was actually about to ask if you were hungry. I'll look up restaurants while you freshen up." I was very sure that last bit was him politely telling me that I looked and smelled like travel, but I couldn't be mad. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't find it in me to be annoyed with him. Maybe it was because he wasn't wrong, or maybe it was because he was so sweet. 

     We continued chatting, all the way from exiting the airport, to the car, and then the whole ride to the hotel. It was mindless chatter, little small talk and catching up. A bunch of talking about Infinity War, which, since we had time to get over it, was mostly just humor to us now. Talking to him came easy, once the butterflies had settled and I had bruised myself from all the literal pinches I had placed on my arm. I didn't yet have the courage to ask why he wanted me as his roommate, a mystery that had clearly yet to be solved, but I figured I could ask him over dinner or something. There was a certain zen to his nature, in everything he did he was the human embodiment of 'calm' and 'patience'. It was mesmerizing, truly enchanting. I kept being charmed by him, by his laugh and by his smile. It was something I couldn't help. Little things he did, like hold the door open for me, or help me with my luggage. I knew those were normal acts, and I by no means thought that it made me special, I was just woohed by his gentleman-like personality. A certain ping of jealous went off inside me when I realized how he must charm his lady friends this way as well if he has any. Though, I don't take him as the type to have more than one at a time, if I'm being honest. Still, out of pure jealousy, I secretly hoped he had none at all. 

     When we arrived at the hotel, he opened it for me, and I noticed his luggage was already there. "Which bed is mine?" I asked, looking back at him. I set my suitcase down next to the bathroom door, looking at the fairly spacious room. It was by no means grand, it's not like we were given more than one room, but it fit our needs fine. I had no use for luxurious hotels, they seemed slightly too impractical for my needs.

     "I figured I'd give you first pick," Tom said, closing the door. I looked between the two beds and decided to take the one furthest from the door. I walked over to the bed, which was closest to the window, and placed my backpack on it. I walked over to the window and looked out, taking in the city. It was gorgeous, it truly was. I looked back at Tom, who seemed to be watching me fondly. He didn't shy away when my gaze met his, either. He simply smiled softly, never once breaking out of embarrassment. He was a man of confidence, which I could respect. "I suppose we should head out before it gets too late. Are you up for Chinese?"

 

     The two of us ended up at a small Chinese shop, humble and quiet, a little way down the road so that we wouldn't be seen. After a day of being branded to the public, we wanted time to ourselves, to really talk in person. I decided that now would be an okay time to ask the question that had been stuck in the back of my mind ever since I received that text. "Tom?" I asked, causing him to look up at me. "May I ask you a question?"

     "You don't have to ask, you know. I'll never tell you that you can't." He replied, laughing. The way his smile curved upon his face, the way his eyes lit up like candlelight whenever he spoke, the way his voice sounded when he laughed through his words, it was all so enticing. It pierced me in a way that would never leave me, and I would forever remember the happiest man on earth as being Thomas William Hiddleston, the man who made my heart race and stomach turn. He could turn moths to butterflies and night to day at the bat of an eye. You'd be cruel to refuse Tom anything, he was so loving and kind that to imagine him upset is the same image as that of a kicked puppy; it's sickening and hurtful. I made a silent vow to myself in that mere moment that if anyone were to ever hurt Tom,  _my_ Tom, I would have my revenge.

     "Alright, alright." I laughed, setting down my chopsticks and resting my chin on the backs of my folded hands. "Why did you ask me to room with you?" I asked, humming softly and flirtatiously. It was my intentions to let him know where I stood- that I was interested in him. I wanted him to know that the 'fame' meant nothing to me, that the gossip and headlines were all just background noise, that flashing cameras was just an unimportant scene in a potentially grande film. None of that was what I came to see, it wasn't what I was here for. I liked Tom, and I'd like to get to know him more so I could further those feelings. I knew little about the man, so it left me grasping at chances to truly know him. Maybe the mystery to him was what attracted me to him. I was like a moth to a flame, and I wasn't sure if that made me desperate or desirable, but I hoped for the latter.

     Tom hummed in return, moving his lips around while he thought. He tapped his long, slender fingers again his chin, breaking our eye contact. "Is it wrong to say because I want to know you more? For my own sake?" He asked, almost sounding confused if that was really his answer. He didn't seem like he knew why, like he just did.

     "That depends. What, for your sake, does getting to know me do to benefit you?" I asked, now intrigued. 

     "I get to figure out why you give me butterflies every time I look at you." He boldly admitted. I knew from watching panels and interviews of his that he had never shied away from being a flirt, unlike myself where I discretely implied something but left the listener wanting to know more. No, Tom would tell you how he felt up front. And now he had made his intentions clear, so there was nothing holding me back aside from a blush and a stutter I knew was to come. "And it was a good excuse to let you know that you make me feel that way." He added in, taking a sip of his water shortly after.

      My cheeks took no hesitation in blushing a furious red, and my eyes dropped as my lips curved into a smile. "Well, I guess that makes two of us." I sheepishly admitted, stumbling over my words just a tad. I wasn't great at this whole confession thing, but I did my best to let him know that we were on the same page. 

     I batted my eyes, looking up at him, though my chin was still turned down. He had the goofiest, happiest grin on his face, which in turn made me smile even wider than I already was. "Then do I have your permission to pay for the bill and hold your hand as we walk out? I'd like to test these waters and figure out where this is going if you don't mind." He asked politely. I giggled, a noise that I don't often catch coming out of me, and just shook my head.

     "I'll pay, but yes to the hand holding,  _absolutely yes._ " I agreed. Tom only rolled his eyes, pulling out his wallet anyway.

     "I'm a gentleman, so don't even think about it, darling."  _Darling._ I hummed again, this time in approval of my new found name. My head was spinning.  _The_ Tom Hiddleston liked me. This is what I'm talking about when I say that my life keeps taking these unexpected turns, and I'm presented with one opportunity after another. I often don't realize how fast my life is moving until moments like these go in slow motion. The way his eyes light up when he laughs, his voice when he talks of nothing and everything all at once, and most importantly, the way his hand fits perfectly in mine. I never once expected to have my fingers locked in his, ot be walking this close to him and sharing shy, curious laughs with him. My cheeks and ears were redder than any shade of red I could think of, I was sure about that. My knees shook with shock and anxiety, but I smiled at the cameras that clicked as people gasped. I thought of any clever headline that I might read within the next hour, and I planned on being asked all these questions during the panels. But if Tom was comfortable testing the waters with me, I wasn't about to deny him. Maybe this seemed fast, but our worlds were as fast as they get. Moments like these were a hit or miss, and neither of us was about to deny the other of a chance, deprive ourselves of what could be. 


End file.
